Numerous books and other articles have been written on systems to respond to certain deals of cards when playing bridge. Such material has dealt with not only instructions for bidding purposes but also instructions for playing the cards after the contract in a bridge game has been entered.
Also, programs have been written which have attempted to arrive at a responsive bid in response to a deal of cards and bids by other players in the game. These programs have often required large storage capacity of computers and have often required a knowledge of computer program language in order to use such a program. Further still, the hardware or other devices incorporating such a program have been cumbersome to move and operate.
The same disadvantages and drawbacks associated with devices for bidding in bridge, have also been inherent in devices and apparatus for instructing a player as to which card to play after the contract has been formed.
Thus, in order to implement a bridge game system having sufficient capability for bidding and playing, it is not just sufficient to have a technique for a computer to evaluate the possible bid responses and playing responses that it might make, it is also desirable to produce a device capable of being operated by a person who understands the game, but not necessarily having a thorough knowledge of computers or how to operate them. It would thus be useful to provide a device having necessary input and output features to permit the game to be played, as well as other features and capabilities to make the device attractive and practical, while retaining simplicity of operation and maintaining reasonable cost limitations.